Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount has opened up on what it was like to play against Liverpool transfer target Thiago Alcantara, admitting he 'couldn't get anywhere near' the Bayern Munich star.
The midfield maestro has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League champions this summer with just one year remaining on his current deal at the Bundesliga giants.
Thiago starred for Bayern as they beat Chelsea 7-1 on aggregate at the last-16 stage of the Champions League on they wait to winning the elite European competition last month.
Mount, who broke through into the Chelsea first team under Frank Lampard last season, has shed light on the quality of Bayern and Thiago.
'Bayern have some unbelievable world-class players... [Robert] Lewandowski, [Joshua] Kimmich and Thiago in midfield, I just couldn't get near him,' he told Sport Bible.
'They moved the ball around the team so quickly. When you're up against players like that you're thinking, "How are we going to stop this?"
'It was a big moment, it opened my eyes. It made me realise, "This is the next level, this where you need to be". And I am determined to work hard and reach that level.
'It was a tough lesson, but we've taken so much from that experience and we'll come back stronger.'
After comfortably beating Chelsea Bayern went on to humiliate Barcelona 8-2 and then saw off Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain to win the Treble last campaign.